These steamed dumplings were so very delicately made that you could see the red of the carrot through its thin, translucent outer skin. She always served it fresh, with a bowl of steaming soup and a dollop of spicy red dalle chutney on the side.

Electricity at 14,140 feet is absolutely miraculous! But do we really need it? Is it even a viable solution to transport this electricity, all the way up to 14,140 feet? How do these precariously hanging cables survive the harsh realities of the mountains? Shouldn’t we have developed decentralised energy production by now? Using Gestalt’s Law of closure, depicting the black mountains while the white of the paper marks the snow.

Real Chinese noodles from China, at the Indo-China border near Nathu La, Sikkim. Made a copy of the illustration (isn’t it an interesting graphic design exhibit?) from its packet while slurping warm noodles in the biting cold!

This huge bungalow was spotted at an altitude of 14,140 feet, at Nathu La, a mountain pass and an offshoot of the ancient Silk Route in the Himalayas connecting the Indian state of Sikkim with China’s Tibet Autonomous Region. The Indian Army personnel at the tourist point told us how it becomes almost unbearable for any visitor to stay there after a few hours due to lack of oxygen. Wonder who mustered up enough courage to build and live in a house surrounded and governed by one of the harshest laws of nature!

One day, I was down with a terrible stomach ache and an upset tummy. I spent the day, holed up in my bed, under covers, only getting up to make myself a warm bowl of soup. All throughout this, the fluffy house dog, Totoro, decided to stay by my side and keep me company.

Tibet road, leading up to Kazi road has this little house with its peeling walls done in a lovely teal colour, a part of its charm (especially for me) lay in the ‘blue’ colour while the rest was its crumbling structure! Tenzing disagrees with this sketch resembling even remotely to the house!

Echostreamers had their favourite pub, ‘Downtown’ just around the corner on M.G. Marg. Every new person in Echotrsean was introduced to this place on almost the first weekend of his/ her stay. It was a small pub on the first floor, with even smaller bar, and a tiny adjacent balcony overlooking the street. The room was painted dark, Bob Marley and John Lennon (and many more) portraits adorned the walls. On most weekends, a bunch of extremely talented local musicians would be playing their usual list of songs followed by a few very talented or very drunk (and brave) karaoke performances. The night would turn mellow and if you happen to have stuck around for all this while, the remaining few would sit in one large circle, playing a few favourite tunes, drinking, playing game and of course making friends. Gana, a senior of mine absolutely loved this place and was always found dragging the studio to downtown.

On most evenings, I would walk down (300 steps downhill shortcut) to the M.G. Marg, Gangtok for a chocolate chip muffin at Tripti’s (I have never seen a more popular and more affordable bakery). The way up to the studio would be slightly longer, slow turns at the State Assmebly building leading up to the Nam-Nam, a viewpoint that offered uninterrupted of the mountains, sometimes accompanied by jhalmuri and chai! These lovely bunch of lavender wildflowers was spotted during the walk!

One day my lovely black umbrella, with neon seams broke. It couldn’t withstand the pelting rains of Gangtok. Astonishingly, I found an umbrella man! He would set up his makeshift shop by the street side and fix an umbrella, using the old parts of broken umbrellas! These small street side livelihoods are fast disappearing as the population gets engulfed by the wild consumerism that dictates the ‘use and throw’ culture and completely sidelines the frugal mentality of the Indian psyche! We are simply aping the west and heading for the doomsday!

Rachna Book Cafe is a quaint little cafe with a book shop on top. It is also the literary center of Gangtok, Sikkim and houses many interesting talks and many famous people through its weekly/ monthly events.